Is Messier Wrong? Oilers CEO Defended Letting Players Help Hire Babcock

Mark Messier’s comments about the Edmonton Oilers and their decision not just to hire Mike Babcock as coach but to let the leadership group lead the charge caught a lot of attention on Wednesday. Messier said he was “horrified” by the whole thing, noting, “I am absolutely shocked they hired him. I’m absolutely shocked from the stories that I heard from very good, reputable, character people about the way they were treated. It’s been no secret.”

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He also added, “I think there has to be a separation of powers on the structural level of any team. I think from the management to the coaching to the players, there has to be a divide. The leadership of your team have to protect the players inside the dressing room. How can you do that when you’re directly involved with the decisions they’re making at the management level and hiring of the management and coaches? I don’t understand it.”

Oilers CEO of Hockey Operations Jeff Jackson spoke Tuesday ahead of the NHL’s board of governors meetings and had great things to say about Babcock. He’s been “super impressed” with Babcock, assistant D.J. Smith, and the rest of the newly assembled coaching staff.

As for why the leadership group was allowed to spearhead this hiring, Jackson answered that in June.

Greg Wyshynski of ESPN cited Jackson, who said:

“We didn’t look at social media. We just sort of did our thing. Lots of people have lots of opinions, and that’s part of our business. The fans have their opinion. We knew what we needed to do to get the coach we wanted, so we just kept sort of moving forward with our diligence and got to a point where we were comfortable. They’ve [McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman] been in Edmonton a long time and have gone through some heartbreak together. They’ve earned the right to have a voice. We sought that and we decided. Players don’t make the ultimate decision, but I think it’s more important to be collaborative with them about communication.”

The Oilers Might Have Gotten This Correct

So, there you have it. The Oilers’ stance is that, as an organization, they made the decision to hire Babcock. That said, they were happy to take input from the leadership group, and it was a good idea to ensure that there wouldn’t be issues once Babcock was brought on board.

Messier’s stance is that the players shouldn’t have a say, but is that really best? If the Oilers brought in Babcock and all parties didn’t hit it off right away, then what? At least this way, there might be some hard times and some tough love coming from the coach, but the players are ready for it and embracing it.

This is all without mentioning the fact that Messier’s comments are somewhat hypocritical. Of particular interest to this story is the manner in which Mike Keenan was hired in 1997. The Vancouver Canucks brought Messier’s old coach Keenan in. Keenan didn’t shy away from saying why he was there.

“I got to Vancouver via Mark Messier,” Keenan said. “Mark Messier went to the owner [John McCaw]… Mark went to John and said, ‘I’d like Mike Keenan to coach this team.’”

Clearly, star players have a say in who coaches a team, just as Messier did.

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